{"id":1256,"date":"2019-02-15T00:15:59","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T05:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/?p=1256"},"modified":"2020-06-01T09:07:19","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:07:19","slug":"simply-lila","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/simply-lila\/","title":{"rendered":"Simply Lila"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

Simply Lila<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Suzie Johnson<\/a>

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on Lady Susan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in the shadow of her mother has always been part of Lila Wentworth\u2019s everyday life. Filled with self-doubt and uncertainty, Lila seeks solace among the pages of Jane Austen\u2019s captivating novels; she even identifies with one of Jane\u2019s characters. But when handsome
engineer Kirby Ross, rescues her from the path of a runaway trolley car, Lila wishes she had just an ounce of her mother\u2019s wit and beauty. Frustrated that the shy Miss Wentworth avoids him, Kirby aims to be the one to show her life can be far more interesting than fiction and that her inner-beauty is far more desirable.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Austin<\/em>, Texas<\/em> 1893<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\nWentworth watched as the two women sitting across the table from her absorbed\nthe words she\u2019d just spoken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca\nLarson\u2019s green eyes seemed to flash behind her eyeglasses as she gasped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annie\nEllis\u2019s hand wobbled as she placed her cup of tea on the round oak table in\nfront of them. The matching saucer, painted with delicate pink flowers,\nclattered beneath it. A small bit of tea splashed over the brim and onto the\nsaucer. Her soft brown eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. \u201cOh no,\nplease tell me she didn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wishing\nit didn\u2019t hurt so much, Lila confirmed the painful truth with a nod and a\nrough, choked whisper. \u201cYes. She really did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh\nmy. Lila.\u201d Annie spoke in a gentle tone and reached across the table to squeeze\nLila\u2019s hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nearnestness in Annie\u2019s expression was genuine and Lila\u2019s heart warmed, though\nshe felt a slice of guilt over telling her friends about her troubles\u2014especially\nAnnie who was still dealing with the grief of losing her own mother. Besides\nbeing fellow teachers at the Jeanette C. Austen Academy for Young Ladies, Annie\nand Rebecca were also friends. Lila hadn\u2019t had many of those in her life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cListen\nto me, Lila. You are not ugly, far from it. And the right man is out there\nsomewhere just waiting for you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot if\nmy mother is to be believed. She\u2019s also stated it in several letters to her\ncousin in Atlanta. I know because Penney, my mother\u2019s maid, showed them to me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annie\u2019s\nmouth fell open in disbelief. On the other side of the intricately carved oak\ntable, Rebecca gave a cry of outrage. \u201cI can\u2019t believe a mother would say such\na thing to her own daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\nclearly have not met Lady<\/em> Sarah Wentworth.\u201d\nLila pressed her lips together, annoyed by the disrespect that spilled from her\nmouth. As much as her mother couldn\u2019t be called motherly<\/em>, she still didn\u2019t wish to speak poorly of her. Lila\nconcentrated her gaze on the curved wall and rectangular window behind Rebecca.\nFor a moment, the soft blue of the rosemary blossoms beyond the school\u2019s tea\nroom lifted her spirits. This room with its round walls and narrow windows that\nlooked out at the garden was something of a haven, and the three friends often\nmet here at the end of the school day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\ndidn\u2019t know your mother was from England,\u201d Annie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s\nnot.\u201d Lila sighed, tired of the story her mother oft repeated. \u201cHer grandfather\nwas from England, unable to\ninherit, so he came to America\nto seek his fortune. Mother is so in love with the tale, she fancies his\nfortune equates her with his family<\/a> in England. Therefore, if her\ngrandfather\u2019s brother was a British lord, her grandfather was an American lord.\nThus, she is<\/em> Lady Sarah, and I should\nstrive to become Lady Lila.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLady\nLila.\u201d Annie smothered a giggle with the back of her hand. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t even\nsound natural.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re\nright, it doesn\u2019t. It\u2019s quite the sore spot between Mother and me, along with\nthe fact that I prefer to teach French at a girls\u2019 finishing school rather than\nspend my time seeking a rich husband.\u201d It had also been a source of contention\nbetween her parents before her father died, but Annie didn\u2019t need to know that.\nLila wished she could forget it herself, but it did seem to be at the root of\nher mother\u2019s animosity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\njust like Lady Susan<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLady\nSusan?\u201d Lila looked at Annie, then across the table at Rebecca. \u201cDo we know\nher?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like\nLila and Annie, Rebecca was an instructor at the girls\u2019 academy that had come\nto be known affectionately as Austen Abbey. The serious expression in Rebecca\u2019s\ngreen eyes was magnified in the lenses of her round eyeglasses. Just as Annie\nwas a good friend, so was Rebecca. Lila knew she could keep a confidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. Lady Susan<\/em> is the title of a book. The girls\nin my literature class are studying it. It was one of Jane Austen\u2019s first\nnovels, but never published in her lifetime.\u201d Rebecca spooned a tiny bit of\nsugar into her tea, stirred it twice, and tapped the spoon against the delicate\ncup. \u201cActually, Elinor and Marianne<\/em>\nwas written around the same time and later revised and published with a new\ntitle. Lady Susan<\/em>, on the other hand,\nwas printed in her nephew\u2019s memoir many years after she died.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca\npursed her lips and sipped at her tea. Lila feigned patience, when all she\nreally wanted was to hear more about Lady\nSusan<\/em>. How did an old Jane Austen novel compare to Lila and her mother? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally,\nRebecca set the cup down and looked at Lila. \u201cLady Susan<\/em> is not your average Austen novel. It\u2019s about a cruel\nwoman who schemes to find her daughter a wealthy husband. The book is told in\nletter format with most of Lady Susan\u2019s letters filled with cutting remarks\nabout her daughter, Frederica.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\nreleased a breath filled with uncertainty. She didn\u2019t know why the story should\nrattle her so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca\nadded a second, rather generous spoon of sugar to her tea before speaking\nagain. \u201cEverything will be all right, Lila. Believe me. So forget your mother\u2019s\nwords and put that beautiful smile back on your face. What she said was\ndisgraceful and untrue, but I\u2019m also sure she didn\u2019t mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though\nshe didn\u2019t dispute Rebecca, Lila knew better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRebecca\u2019s\nright. Just because she said it, Lila, doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s true.\u201d Annie, the only\none of the instructors at Austen Abbey who drank coffee, blew softly across the\ntop of her cup. \u201cPerhaps your mother said it because she\u2019s jealous.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEither\nthat, or she\u2019s frustrated that you\u2019re twenty-three and not yet married,\u201d Rebecca\nadded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRebecca!\u201d\nAnnie\u2019s eyes flashed with irritation at the teacher who never failed to speak\nher mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot\nthat there\u2019s any shame in that,\u201d Rebecca rushed to say. \u201cA lot of women our\nage\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annie\nraised her eyebrows and glared at Rebecca. Though she was often reluctant to admit\nit, Rebecca was much older than Annie and Lila. Tall, willowy, with fair skin\nand eyes that sparkled behind her glasses, she was too beautiful to not be\nmarried. Lila often wondered if men were put off by her outspoken nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay,\na lot of women your<\/em> age are unmarr\u2014\u201d\nRebecca broke off at the sound of a gentle cough directly behind Lila. A very masculine<\/em> sounding cough, one discreetly\nintended for the women to notice someone else had entered the room. Eyes wide,\nAnnie stared past Lila\u2019s shoulder while Rebecca\u2019s mouth gaped open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horror\ncrashed through Lila at the thought of their conversation being overheard.\nAfter an uncomfortable silence, she shifted in her seat to face a tall man with\nhair the color of sand on a warm beach. His eyes, the green-gray of the ocean\non a stormy day, reflected an empathy that told her he had most definitely\nheard. She couldn\u2019t help but wonder if he shared her mother\u2019s opinion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\ndidn\u2019t want to know. \u201cI\u2014I need to go.\u201d She stood and pushed back her chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLila,\nwait,\u201d Annie called. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExcuse\nme,\u201d she mumbled as she brushed past the man, fled the tea room, and headed for\nthe school\u2019s front door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

When\nLila finally slowed from an unladylike run to a brisk walk, she realized she\nwasn\u2019t far from the park. Out of breath and out of energy, she leaned back\nagainst one of the massive trees and slid down to the hard ground that was\nknotted with tree roots, bark, and other debris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re useless. No one will ever want to\nmarry you.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\ncould picture her mother in various poses uttering the hateful words. If only she\ncould block them all out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t pretty enough.<\/em> You don\u2019t try hard enough.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou shame me with your so-called career.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsituation bothered her more than she dare admit to Annie and Rebecca. But\ntruthfully, the spoken words didn\u2019t hurt nearly as much as the written ones.\nShe\u2019d heard them over and over for years, but the fact that her mother wrote\nthem down in a letter to a cousin\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\nmade it oh so much worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palms\npressed against her forehead, elbows on her knees, Lila squeezed her eyes shut.\nNo need for anyone to notice her crying. If someone were to offer her help, she\nwould undoubtedly fall apart\u2014just like she wanted to do when the man showed up\nat the Abbey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who was<\/em> he, anyway? And why was he at the\nschool\u2014inside<\/em> their private tea room?\nWas he there to pick up one of the students? Most parents wouldn\u2019t normally\nenter the tea room. As a matter of fact, men rarely entered Austen Abbey.\nBesides, he certainly didn\u2019t appear old enough to have a daughter who attended the\nschool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\nstood and brushed the dirt from the back of her skirt. It was so humiliating to\nhave a stranger overhear the details of such a personal conversation. It had\nbeen difficult enough to tell Annie and Rebecca. But she\u2019d been in need of\ncomfort. Had she known someone else would overhear, she would never have said\nanything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nonly she could take back the words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\ncould still see the man\u2019s eyes, soft with compassion\u2014or maybe pity\u2014at what he\u2019d\noverheard. Those eyes would have taken Lila\u2019s breath away had she not been so\nupset. Annie, with her artistic eye for color, would probably appreciate their\nunique blend of gray and green. In fact, he very well could have been there for\nthe pretty art teacher. Or Rebecca, for that matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\nhadn\u2019t that occurred to her before? Either woman might have a beau Lila didn\u2019t\nknow about. She swallowed hard, surprised at how much the thought bothered her\u2014which\nwas plain silly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even\nif he wasn\u2019t Annie or Rebecca\u2019s beau, a man like that would never take a second\nlook at Lila. She was a plain brown wren always hiding her head, where Annie\nwas a beautiful green hummingbird flitting gracefully about. And Rebecca, in\nspite of the eyeglasses that made her look more like a teacher than any of the\nothers at Austen Abbey, was a bright red cardinal comfortable in the things\nthat made her different. Cardinals and hummingbirds received second glances,\nnot common little wrens.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfar-off clanging of the trolley reminded Lila she should head back to the\nschool. If she could get to the trolley stop in time, she could ride it back\nand speak to Mrs. Collins, the headmistress, before the woman sat down to\nsupper. Lila usually went home each evening, but she couldn\u2019t face another\nnight of her mother\u2019s ridicule and unhappiness. She would ask to stay in one of\nthe guest rooms. Just for tonight. Although, what would change at home in just\none night? Perhaps Mrs. Collins would allow her to room-in permanently.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rushing\ndown the street, Lila\u2019s heartbeat echoed the thrum of her shoes on the sidewalk.\nNot in response to exertion, but rather sadness and disbelief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ntrolley bell pealed again, this time sounding closer. Gathering her skirt in\nfront of her so she wouldn\u2019t trip, Lila picked up her pace. Her left heel hit a\npebble and her ankle wobbled unsteadily. Righting herself before she fell, she\nwas relieved to see the crowd waiting near the trolley stop. She\u2019d made it.\nAlmost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just\nanother few steps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\nbarely missed tripping over the small brown and white dog that crossed her\npath. She didn\u2019t miss the boy running after the dog, however. He murmured an\napology and kept running. Lila wobbled, then toppled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Face\nfirst. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directly\nonto the trolley track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s\ngasps and men\u2019s shouts filled the air and, somewhere in the back of her mind,\nLila wondered how fast the trolley could stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somehow\nshe managed to keep from hitting her face on the ground, but the palms of her\nhands weren\u2019t so fortunate. They hit hard and stung like they were scraped raw.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She scrambled\nto her feet and was about to glance at her hands when a low voice rumbled in\nher ear, startling her. \u201cHere, let me help you.\u201d Strong hands grasped her\nelbows, pulling her away from the tracks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank\nyou.\u201d Lila wiped her hands on her skirt and looked up. Directly into the very\neyes she\u2019d so recently been thinking about. Her heartbeat skittered to a halt\nalong with her thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre\nyou all right?\u201d he asked. \u201cMiss Wentworth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cF\u2013fine.\u201d\nLila nodded. He knew her name? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cHere, I\u2019ve got you. Let\u2019s get you away from\nthese tracks before you get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if\nin response, a cacophony of high-pitched squeals pierced her ears as the\ntrolley\u2019s brake-shoes rubbed against the wheels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ntrolley screeched to a halt, right where she\u2019d fallen seconds earlier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSay,\nis she all right?\u201d The driver leaned out his window and pushed his hat up from\nhis forehead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s\na little shaken, but she\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank\nthe good Lord above,\u201d the man said. He pulled out a blue cloth and rubbed it\nover his face while the trolley\u2019s passengers disembarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\nappreciate your help.\u201d Lila\u2019s voice quaked as she whispered her thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re\nwelcome, but I\u2019m sure you would have been fine if I hadn\u2019t have been here. The\ndriver made a perfect stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila attempted\nto smile, but her face wouldn\u2019t cooperate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s\nget you over to the medical clinic so they can make sure you don\u2019t have any\nserious injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\nI\u2019m fine. Really.\u201d She looked down at the ruffled layers of her skirt.\nHopefully Penney would be able to repair the tatted lace and lovely pink\nrosettes. \u201cI just want to go home. I mean the school. I want to go back to the\nschool.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nlooked at her oddly, and then offered his arm. \u201cI\u2019ll escort you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead\nof taking it, she asked, \u201cHow did you know my name?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMiss\nEllis told me. Or maybe it was Miss Larson.\u201d He shook his head and smiled. As\nhe did, fine lines accented the corners of his eyes. \u201cI know we weren\u2019t\nproperly introduced at the academy. I\u2019m Kirby Ross.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbbey,\u201d\nLila said without thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPleased\nto meet you, Abbey. But I thought your name was\u2014\u201d He shook his head. \u201cNever\nmind.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nspite of the situation, she couldn\u2019t help but smile. \u201cNo. I meant the school.\nWe call it the abbey, or Austen Abbey. The school\u2019s founder is rumored to have\nbeen a relative of Jane\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJane?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAusten.\nThe writer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh,\nyes. That<\/em> Jane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\nwasn\u2019t convinced he really knew who she meant, so she did the gracious thing\nand reached for the arm he still offered and let him set the pace. Perhaps\nshe\u2019d be able to find out which of her two friends he\u2019d come to call upon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\narm was firm and muscular, and as they walked, she took the opportunity to sneak\nmore than a brief look at him. He was taller than she, but not too tall. Like\nmost men in Texas, his face was tanned by the sun\u2014a golden tan, to match his\nhair. Unlike most of the men she knew, his eyes weren\u2019t hidden in the shadows\nof a Stetson. Instead, he wore a low-crowned bowler in a dark gray shade that\nmatched his light-weight jacket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodness,\nbeing escorted down the street by Mr. Kirby Ross. Her hand trembled on his arm.\nHad anything ever felt so right? Perhaps she no longer wanted to know which of\nher two friends he\u2019d been there to call upon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re\na teacher at the abbey, is that correct?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\nMr. Ross. I teach French.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\ncorner of his mouth tilted up, and the smile in his eyes was genuine. \u201cIt\nsounds like an interesting subject. Perhaps you can tell me more about it\nsometime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was\nhe flirting with her? Or was he serious? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\ndidn\u2019t know what to say. If he meant it, he\u2019d undoubtedly take it all back were\nhe to ever meet her mother. A man as kind as Kirby didn\u2019t deserve to be exposed\nto the likes of Sarah Wentworth. Of course, it would never happen. She blinked\nrapidly to try dispelling her fanciful musings. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much\nto her relief, they\u2019d reached the lovely three-story building of gray stone of\nAusten Abbey. It had white balconies on each level, and an exquisite looking\nturret which housed the tea room on the bottom level. She turned to face him.\n\u201cWell, good night, Mr. Ross. And thank you again.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re\nvery welcome.\u201d He reached for both her hands, and she winced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking\nwith him, she\u2019d almost forgotten how they stung. He turned her hands over and\nstudied her scraped and bleeding palms, then drew his eyebrows together. \u201cAre\nyou certain you don\u2019t need the doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuite.\nI\u2019ll wash up and be perfectly fine tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVery\nwell, then.\u201d He relaxed his face and slowly let go of her hands. Then he opened\nthe door for her. \u201cGood night, Miss Wentworth. Perhaps we\u2019ll meet again\nsometime.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lila\nreluctantly stepped through the door, and just before it closed she heard a\nwhisper. \u201cShe\u2019s wrong, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaning\nagainst the door, Lila groaned. But her heart lifted at the same time. He truly\nhad overheard. And yet he offered words of kindness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\nwasn\u2019t sure whether to be humiliated or happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthe moment, she chose happy.  <\/p>\n\n\n